LAMED. For ever, O Jehovah, thy word is settled in the heavens.
The psalmist is in the middle of trouble, and he looks away from it to something fixed. His claim is about place as much as time: God's word stands where nothing on earth can reach it.
The word is fixed "in the heavens" — that is, out of man's reach. Several of the writers quoted here use an older translation, which reads "settled in the heavens."
The godly man looks beyond his trials. He sees that God's Word is "settled in the heavens." It is beyond the reach of man, so nothing that happens on earth affects it.
Heaven is where the word rests; earth is where it is carried out. So a promise in your hand is as sure as the God who does not change.
Now the soul sees another side of the word: the word before God in heaven itself. There it is settled for ever. There, where He is, it stays what it is — God's settled and declared purpose. But God has acted out of heaven, though His purpose is settled in it. He is faithful. He holds to what He is and to what He has said, through all the changing generations of men. So when we have His word, we can count on it as surely as on what is in heaven. It does not change, any more than God Himself.
The sky illustrates the verse. Stars, sun, moon and earth all hold the course God set for them.
In the heavens above, His word stands firm for ever. The stars that roll in their circuits show it, no doubt, and so do the sun and the moon that keep their ordered path. The earth, too, is established... fixed and lasting. There they all remain, servants of God, each in its own sphere. Everything holds steady, though it all looks open to change. Everywhere it shows the mark of a governing hand.
Put the record of God's people beside the record of God's word. Mackintosh finds the picture in the ark of the covenant, the chest that kept God's word safe while the people themselves failed.
Man is the same always and everywhere. His history is a blotted one, from beginning to end. But what a relief and comfort it is to know and remember that God is ever the same. His word abides. It is "settled for ever in heaven." It was hidden in the side of the ark of the covenant and kept there intact, in spite of all the grievous sin and folly of the people. This gives sweet rest to the heart, at all times, in the face of human failure.
What God fixes in heaven, no one can vote down on earth. Attacks on the Bible are storms around a rock, not cracks in it.
He will stand behind every word He has put on record, for He has magnified His word above all His name. The Scriptures are an unshakable rock. The winds may blow their hardest. Threatening voices may join the fury of the storm. We can always say with confidence, "Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens."
Jesus lived by this verse. He treated Scripture as heaven's book, not man's.
He was from heaven and of heaven, yet He found nothing in Scripture that did not reveal God. For Him, God had inspired all Scripture; its source was heavenly, not earthly... His complete submission to the written Word, and His oneness with it, marked Him as heavenly. He lived by the heavenly Book. For Him it was, "Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens." He, the living Word, lived as Man by the written Word.
A word that cannot be moved steadies the person who obeys it, and leaves the enemy nothing to work with.
The spirit of obedience is the great moral safeguard against every scheme and every trap of the enemy. The enemy may shift his ground. He may change his tactics. He may use different agents. But obedience to the plain and simple Word of God keeps the soul safe from all his wicked schemes and crafty tricks. The devil can do nothing with a man who is completely ruled by the Word of God.
- Settled — the word is fixed in heaven, out of man's reach, so nothing happening on earth can touch it.
- Sure — it is as unchanging as God Himself, so you can count on it as you count on heaven.
- Seen — stars, sun, moon and earth all keep their course. They are the visible witness that His word holds.
- Safe — human failure never dented it. It stayed intact in the ark while the people sinned and failed.
- Steadying — Christ Himself lived by this heavenly Book. Anyone ruled by it is beyond the enemy's reach too.
Thy faithfulness is from generation to generation thou hast established the earth, and it standeth.
The psalmist has just looked up and seen God's word fixed in heaven, out of reach of anything happening below. Verse 90 brings that certainty down to earth: God keeps faith with every generation, and the ground under our feet proves it.
God's purpose stays fixed where He is. But He also acts out of heaven, and that action reaches the generations of men.
There, where He is, it remains in its own character of God's settled and expressed purpose. But God has acted out of heaven, though His purpose is settled in it. His faithfulness means He stands by what He is and has said. It continues through the changing generations of men. So when we have His word, we can count on it as sure as what is in heaven; it does not change, any more than God Himself. He established the earth, and it lasts.
The steadiness of the earth points somewhere. One writer links it to the Person and the words of the Lord Jesus.
The New Testament tells us that the blessed Person of the Lord Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:8). The Lord Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (Matt. 24:35). This is the solid rock we stand on, the right foundation for our spiritual maturity. Nothing can shake either the Person of the Lord or His precious word. "You have founded the earth and it stands still" is the literal rendering from the Hebrew. What God does lasts! Someone has said, "Every time you set your foot on the ground, remember the stability of God's promises."
Why should anyone trust that God keeps His word? Look at everything around us that keeps running.
God's word is settled in the heavens. On earth, too, God is faithful in fulfilling His word throughout all generations. What is more, creation is the abiding witness of God's faithfulness to His word. All created things continue according to the fixed laws by which they were set in motion. They are His servants doing His bidding. So the purpose of God is settled in the heavens. His faithfulness to carry out that purpose continues on earth. And all created things in heaven and earth bear continual witness to this faithfulness of God.
This is not comfort in the abstract. It is comfort for people whose enemies want them destroyed.
What comfort and rest of heart for the saints to know that the word of the Lord is unmovable and heavenly, and that He is always faithful! Everything down here is under His control and serves His will. This stable, heavenly word is the preserving power of the righteous where the wicked seek their destruction. It is the word of Him to whom they belong, the One who is their Saviour.
The earth keeps the place God gave it. That raises a question about us.
The earth, heaven, hail, rain, wind, snow and all the elements are His servants. How much more should you and I be His servants, as redeemed and intelligent creatures! These elements work in the place God appointed for them, and in this way they are an example to us all.
One writer takes this further still. He reads the earth's lasting as reaching into eternity itself.
"You have established the earth, and it stands fast" (Ps. 119:90); "the earth remains forever" (Eccl. 1:4). These divine statements are now fulfilled. Many Christians have a very vague idea of the eternal state of the earth and the home of the redeemed. They think of it as a spiritual state with no location. But it is not so. The earth and the heaven remain as definite places throughout all eternity.
- Settled — God fixed His word in heaven. Nothing on earth can touch it. His purpose does not change, because He does not change.
- Faithful — God carries that purpose out down here. He stands by His word through every changing generation.
- Established — the ground you stand on is the evidence. What God does lasts, so every step is a reminder of the stability of His promises.
- Serving — creation keeps the course God gave it. That is the witness to His faithfulness and the pattern for ours.
- Steadying — a man under threat is speaking here. The unmovable word preserves the righteous when the wicked seek their ruin.
By thine ordinances they stand this day; for all things are thy servants.
Here the psalmist looks away from his own trouble to what cannot be shaken. He points to God's word in heaven, the earth under his feet, and the daily running of creation. Two questions follow. Who are the "they" that still stand? And what does it mean for us that everything else obeys?
The two verses before this one speak of God's word in heaven and of His faithfulness on earth. One writer sets those beside creation and puts all three in order.
Not only is God's word settled in the heavens, but on earth God is faithful in fulfilling His word throughout all generations. Moreover, creation is the abiding witness of God's faithfulness to His word. All created things continue according to the fixed laws by which they were set in motion. They are His servants doing His bidding. So the purpose of God is settled in the heavens; the faithfulness of God to carry out that purpose continues on earth; and all created things in heaven and earth bear continual witness to this faithfulness of God.
The verse never names its subject, and translations differ over it. One writer rejects a well-known modern rendering. He reads the subject back from the two verses before, then turns the answer into a question for the reader.
The N.I.V. strangely says, "Your laws endure to this day…" But that is surely not the meaning. The "they" in our verse are no doubt the "word" in verse 89, and "the earth" in verse 90!! It is these — word, heaven and earth — which are all His servants! If the Lord maintains and sustains these things, is He not able to sustain us?
Fixed laws can look like a machine left running on its own. One writer asks why created things keep to their laws at all. His answer also shows where the soul finds strength when circumstances turn against it.
He established the earth, and it abides. All continues as God orders it; for — and it is another important truth — everything that exists is the servant of God. Even if He has given them final laws, why do they keep to them? Because they depend on Him. They are His servants. All are His servants; but then the soul has its strength in this word… When circumstances were all against him, it was hard to hold firm, unless the moral side of the law had its power. God seemed to be outside the circumstances, but the inward delight in the law of God kept it fast.
Another writer looks up for his picture of a word that stands firm. Behind the stars, sun and moon he sees one hand at work.
In the heavens above, His word stands firm for ever. No doubt the stars that roll in their circuits, and the sun and the moon that keep their ordered path, illustrate this. The earth, too, is established… fixed and lasting. There they all remain: servants of God, each in its own sphere. It is a permanent state of things, despite all the apparent openness to change. Everywhere it shows the impress of a governing hand.
If all things serve God, one creature stands out. A writer sets the ordered round of nature against the will of man.
The planets revolve around their centres. The seasons follow each other in due course. The rain and dew make the soil fruitful. The earth yields its rich variety of fruits… But man himself is a rebel! He is the only being among them all with the capacity for intelligent obedience. It was for the glory, by the power, and according to the will of God, that all began to be. But while all else continue to exist on these terms, man has chosen another end than his Maker's glory.
The same source turns the verse into a personal question. It quotes an older wording, "according to Your ordinances," where the ESV has "By your appointment." The list of God's servants ends with us.
But also, the earth, heaven, hail, rain, wind, snow and all the elements are His servants. If they are, how much more should you and I be His servants, as redeemed and intelligent creatures! These elements work in their appointed place, "according to Your ordinances…" In this way they are an example to us all… Are we conscious of this and ready to fulfil our functions?
- Settled — God fixed His purpose in heaven. His faithfulness carries it out on earth. Creation is the daily witness to both.
- Sustained — the "they" that still stand are most likely God's word, heaven and earth. The One who holds them up can hold you up.
- Dependent — fixed laws are not self-running. Things keep to their laws because they depend on Him; they are servants, not machines.
- Rebel — everything else keeps its appointed place. Man alone can obey with intelligence, and he chose an end other than his Maker's glory.
- Enlisted — wind and snow serve Him in their place. The redeemed have all the more reason to fill theirs.